I have a few dogs here that cannot stand puppies.
They'll torment the puppy every chance they can, and if you stop it, they will sneak to do it.
Good luck with that - it's a good way to create a very reactive dog right within your own home, don't even have to take them to the dog park for that.

I think it's important to remember that adult dogs are magnets for puppies. Even with all of your best intentions and careful planning...the puppy is going to be drawn to your adult dog and your adult dog will either avoid till it's driven to a reaction or engage on sight.

My adult GSD avoided our new puppy like the plague. And he is not puppy/dog reactive. He is aloof. Couldn't care less if he ever made a canine friend. Our puppy was insanely drawn to our GSD. It took every bit of my creative nature to manage the two.

Also consider commute time. Even if you get off after that 12 hrs, which is doubtful, you have the commute to and from the hospital.

Are you planning to build a kennel ( well, two, given your adult dogs unpredictable behavior) or hire a dog walker or something? A doggy door won't work since you can't leave the two alone to use the same door all day.

Well, I just went through something similar myself, so I will tell you what worked for me. I have a great Dane who does not like other dogs. He is my husband's dog though, and I wanted another dog of my own. The great Dane did grow up with a Pomeranian and Belgian tervuren, but they both got old and died. They were the only dogs he liked.

We got a crate and xpen for our pup. We allowed the great Dane to meet her while she was safely in the crate. The first time he met her he growled and barked. He didn't like her one bit. We kept the puppy away from him. One thing we did though that helped was to walk them together. We live on a dirt road so my husband walked on one side and I walked with the pup on the other side. The great Dane stopped being so reactive toward the pup on these walks. He also got used to her crazy jumpy unpredictable puppy ways on walks and while she played safely in the xpen.

It took about 2 months, but they play together every day now. The first time they started playing was while we were on a walk. They get along better than I ever thought they would now. The great Dane even allows the puppy to eat right out of his food bowl, which is something he never allowed my tervuren to do. I should note that my tervuren was male and my new pup is female. The great Dane is a male and he is much more tolerant of the little girl. He never fought with my other male, but he would have never allowed him to eat out of his food bowl.

So if you are going to get another dog, I would suggest a female. Also be patient. The scent of the pup in the house and allowing your other dog to get used to the pup from a safe distance should help. Seeking the advice of your behaviorist would probably be very helpful too. Good luck!

really bad idea . Did the breeder ask what your situation was , where the pup would be going home to , wonder if the dog would have the best chance to be the best that it could ? I am with this thought "As a breeder, if someone came to me with a similar situation, I would turn down the sale and tell them the same thing; Wait."

Were they that happy to "sell" the pup?

I would say no because I would not want to sacrifice one of my dogs --- knowingly put it in harms way . Also what is happening at the pet store that you with your dog , with a known problem , and the ower of another dog , allow them to connect close enough so that your dog can over correct the other dog? That sort of reveals levels of observation and management . I would hate to see the young dog get physically harmed , and it can be serious, or loose all trust and confidence .

As someone who has been an RN for over 20 years, I am going to tell you that you can not guarantee WHAT shift or for how long you will be working. You will work what your unit needs you to work. Simple as that. You also have to factor in overitme (as a nurse you will not always get off on time- trust me, I know) and as a new grad PLUS being new to whatever unit you end up on, you are going to get the shifts no one else wants.

Now, even if you do get 3 12's then you need to factor in commute time, and the fact that a 12 hour shift is usually actually around 13. 7a-7p is actually 7a-7:30p. Then add time for finishing your work before you leave.

So that said, even if your dog wasn't reactive to puppies, I would NEVER recommend a brand new grad run out and get a puppy. You are going to need all the extra time you have to learn your job. No one, and I mean NO ONE, you work with will appreciate a new grad who doesn't finish the job and rushes out the door. You will be setting yourself up to fail right from the get go.

Puppies are a HUGE amount of work and so is being a new grad. Don't mix the two. Get your job, learn it and become good at it and THEN worry about getting a puppy, especially since your dog is reactive and you will need extra time to train.

I think you should wait until you have your current dog under control. I know you say you will have enough time, but you may for a bit then it will dwindle away. I adopted a 3 yr old German Shepherd and I only work one part time job I work 6am to 2 everyday and am off two or three days out of the week, so I have plenty of time to train him and he has been a huge responsibility and am still working through some kinks. The people here are not telling you this to make you mad or feel like an inadequate dog owner they give so much good advice, because most of them are more experienced.

When I got chief he was severely severely aggressive towards men and not really keen on meeting new people, he was super aggressive over his food, knew nothing about a leash and ran wild in the house, he didn't know what toys or bones were. He was like having a brand new puppy except huge, aggressive, and with big teeth. I also have another dog who is 17 years old he loves other dogs and adores Chief.

Back in his younger days I would have never thought he would like any other dogs especially males since his past with the, but now he loves all dogs expecially Chief. Having an older dog that you know hates puppies if putting him through stress that he doesn't need to go through and it's not good for his health.

You have way less time that me and having a new puppy and an aggressive older dog just isn't a good mix. Wouldn't you rather have them both get along or since you say dog 1 likes adults why don't you get an adult instead of a puppy and let your older dog meet him before you bring him home. I had my two meet before I even said yes to taking him. I didn't want either dog to be stressed, but they were almost instant friends

__________________
R.I.P- Smokey my GSD/Husky. You are my hero, my heart, my soul and you will forever remain in my heart. You were a true companion. I love You and miss You so much. Run like the wind!!

Register Now

In order to be able to post messages on the German Shepherd Dog Forums forums, you must first register.
Please enter your desired user name, your email address and other required details in the form below.

User Name:

Password

Please enter a password for your user account. Note that passwords are case-sensitive.

Password:

Confirm Password:

Email Address

Please enter a valid email address for yourself.

Email Address:

Log-in

User Name

Remember Me?

Password

Human Verification

In order to verify that you are a human and not a spam bot, please enter the answer into the following box below based on the instructions contained in the graphic.